Come With Me Redux
by Anastasia Athene
Summary: You know, Lane, I'm so proud of you. I don't know if I tell you that enough. But I am. -Lorelai and Lane have a talk. CHAPTER 7 UP!
1. Come With Me

**A/N: This is my first adventure into Pen-Lender Land. LOL, I rather like it here. The weather's nice.Anyway, I am a die-hard Lit. Don't get me wrong. But lately, Rory has been…ticking me off. And I read Broken Angel by punkcatwitissues…and here I am in Pen-Lender territory. This is just Lane's thoughts on a whole myriad of subjects, set about a week or two after Raincoats and Recipes. So here it is:  
**

**Pen Lenders—Come With Me Redux**

_"Come with me."_

Lane Kim, for the life of her, could not understand why Rory had said no.

Of course, she didn't really understand Rory that much anymore. Dean? Again? Come on, Rory. How stupid do you have to be…?

Lane sighed. Some people—like Dean—didn't deserve second chances. Especially when somebody else got hurt. Poor Lindsay. She came into the diner sometimes, either with her mother or a friend or two, probably wanting an army in case Rory was there. She always gave Lane wary looks—anyone who associated that closely with Rory must be dangerous. But Lane didn't care. She was always nice to her, figuring the girl didn't need any more enemies. Besides, she and Lindsay had something in common. Lindsay hated Rory, and Lane…

Well, Lane was starting to hate Rory a little, too.

Most of all, Lane doesn't understand _why_ Rory is acting the way she is. Hurting so many people. Lindsay. Lane herself, a little bit. Her mother, even—Lorelai had been appropriately horrified at Dean's de-flowering of her daughter and said daughter's complete _delusion_ about the whole situation. It was a good thing Lorelai had Luke when Rory ran off to Europe without her.

You know, Rory was a hypocrite. Yelling at Jess for running away. But Rory ran away all the time. Just, no one had the guts to call her on it.

Lane felt for Jess. He was the one Rory had hurt most directly. And all the guy did was fall madly in love with her. It happened to Rory all the time. Lane rolled her eyes. It didn't really happen to Lane as often, but at least she could think of a few better ways to have handled the situation.

God, what was wrong with Rory? It _was _romantic, Lane knew that for sure.

_"Come with me."_

If Lane had been in Rory's position, well, _she_ would have gone. With one second thought—the band, of course. But still. Going away with Jess didn't mean _forever_. It didn't have to, anyway—only if she wanted it to. Didn't Rory realize that? Lane did.

For the first time in her life, Lane thought she was smarter than Rory Gilmore.

She sighed, imagining leaving Stars Hollow for some crazy love like that. Sure, it was insane, but that was _living_. At some points, it was bound to be out of control. But Lane liked that. As long as it was her choice to be out of control, well, so be it. Her life before…well, it had been interesting, that's for sure. But it was stifling. Nothing had really been her choice. Things were better now, of course. But she knew there was a bigger world out there. She could just imagine…

_"Come with me."_

Yes. Yes. I'll come. Yes, I'll go with you. Let me pack quick, before I change my mind. Help me with this box—my CDs. Very important, you know. And my sticks. Can't forget them.

And before her mind knows it, Lane has conjured up an entire scene. Climbing into Jess' beat-up, piece-of-crap car with a box full of music, a hastily-packed suitcase, and a backpack holding hotel fare and lingerie. Holed up in some tiny apartment in New York City—New York City!—with Jess—just the two of them—while she worked as a waitress, calling Zach and Brian every so often to persuade them to move to the city—more potential gigs, don't you know. Buying lunch from a street vendor, getting take-out for dinner at near midnight, eating it in bed with Jess—Lane blushes at the thought. She had thought about _it _a few times with Dave, but that was all. Their relationship never had the chance to progress that far. And now she was thinking about it with a guy that she never even dated and wasn't in the same state?

Lane, you must be going crazy, she told herself. But she had to admit, Jess was hot. And he probably knew what he was doing. Those eyes, that body, that mouth…she shivers. Aw, crap.

She was going to be in trouble, thinking thoughts like this…

The _hell _with it.

Closing her eyes, Lane lets the images take over: Jess' rough-and-gentle hands on her skin, heat rising in the farthest unknown reaches of her body. That _mouth_ on her collarbone as he slowly lowered her to—

"Lane? Are you okay? You've been staring at the coffee machine for fifteen minutes." Luke's gruff voice breaks through her little foray into dirty daydreaming, and she's almost grateful.

Almost…

**  
I'm not quite sure about the ending. It's a little abrupt. But I couldn't think of anything else. Eh, oh well. I hope you liked it. Please review!**


	2. Someone Else's Turn

**Hey, guys!!! I'm baaaack!! Yay! Okay, I can't believe I got this finished so soon, because I finished my chemistry paper at like 10:30 Friday night and just slept until noon. But my plan of attack worked! Inspiration struck, and here it is. The Redux, Part Deux. **

**Oh, and for all intents and purposes of this story, a few things are different. 1) Let's pretend season 4 ended around the second last week of May. 2) Obviously, the Lane/Zach thing (even though I do enjoy it on the show) will not be a factor…for now, anyway. Who knows what will happen? LOL I don't, that's for sure. Anyway, enjoy: **

**The Redux Chapter 2—Someone Else's Turn**

A week later. Lane sits on a stool behind the counter at Luke's Diner, staring into space and drawing lazy doodles on her order pad. It's almost three on a Thursday afternoon. In June, nonetheless, making it one of the slowest times for the diner. She is, to say the least, bored. However, she's discovered at least one way to pass the time.

Closing her eyes, she lets her mind wander (as it has done almost habitually for the past week) to Jess Mariano.

Lane wonders if they could have had something. Something real, here in Stars Hollow. She wonders if he would have loved her like he loved (loves?) Rory. She wonders if she could have loved him, really loved him. Not just crazy-in-like crush on him.

She'd always been quick to do that, you know. Fall for someone. Maybe not fall in love, specifically, but fall. Neurotically, like a pre-teen with a crush, imagining things she shouldn't, like say, a wedding. Or their kids' names.

In the case of Jess Mariano, it seems to be merely the _feel_ of him.

Lane had never really thought about Jess like that before. Of course, Dave had appeared a little bit after Jess had, and plus, Rory and Jess had seemed destined for each other. Now? Well, yeah, she had been crazy about Dave, but he was in California now…Orange County or something. They hadn't really talked a lot. He sent a postcard in December. _Happy Holidays. How's the band? –Dave._ As for Jess and Rory? They probably _were_ destined for each other, with an intense relationship like that. Star-crossed and all that romantic stuff they said in books. Huh. Well, apparently Rory didn't read enough as she thought.

She sighs. Maybe they'd work it out in another lifetime. Right now, Lane decides, it's someone else's turn.

"Hey, Lane? Lane?" She jumps, almost falling off her stool.

"Oh. Uh, hey, Luke. What's up?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Is something wrong, Lane? You've been…I don't know, distracted. For like, a week now."

"Oh. No. I…I'm just…ah, bored, Luke. Sorry." It was the truth, anyway. He looks at her again, then shrugs. Apparently deciding that she was telling the truth, he hands her a plate of very plain-looking fries.

"All right. Just take these to Kirk. Assure him that I didn't use animal fat to fry them, and that there is no salt, nor any other kind of unhealthy seasoning, on them. You know what? Tell him that they're low-carb, just for the hell of it." He looks annoyed, and Lane smiles.

"Sure thing, Luke." As she gets up, the diner phone rings, and Luke picks it up.

"Hello? Oh, hey. You doing all right? What the hell does that mean, 'I'm not dead yet'? Shut up. What's going on? Oh. Your mother came to visit you after the honeymoon. Yes, I know she's crazy. What do you want _me_ to do about it? Look, she'll probably only be there for a day at the most. Can you put up with her for that long? Okay, then. Listen, it was good of you to call. Yeah, it was. What? You got a new apartment? Really? After the palace you lived in before? Fine, I'll stop. But really, Jess. That's great. Okay. Okay. I'll talk to you later—"

"Wait!" Lane hears herself calling, and Luke looks up, completely confused. She fairly rushes back to the counter. "Can I talk to him?" she asks, biting her lip. _Please just write me off as being Weird Lane again, please, please, please…_

Thankfully, Luke just gives her an odd look. "Uh, sure, Lane. Jess? Uh, Lane wants to talk to you. I'll see you later." He passes her the phone, and she hears a surprised "Huh?" come through the line. Luke gives her another confused glance as he walks across the diner, and Lane presses the phone gingerly to her ear.

"Hello? Jess?"

"Yeah?" She takes a deep breath and the words spill out of her like water.

"Um, I don't know how to…I mean, I—I'm sorry, Jess. I'm so sorry. About…well, about…Rory. I'm sorry that she treated you like that. Really sorry. No one deserves that. And uh, I…yeah. I guess that's it. I just wanted to tell you…that. And, uh, it _was_ romantic and all, just so you know." Lane slaps her hand over her mouth (her _big _mouth) and hears silence on the other end. "Crap! I mean…I gotta go. Uh, bye." She nearly drops the phone in her frantic attempt to slam it back in its cradle, and Luke gives her another strange look before walking back to the counter.

"What was that all about?" She shrugs casually (she hopes.)

"Oh, nothing. Nothing. I just…nothing." Luke just shakes his head, and as he does, he notices a plate of salt-less fries on the counter.

"Hey, you didn't give Kirk his fries."

"Oh, I tried. He told me that he's not into low-carb. He's into toning, not losing weight." Exasperated, Luke forgets about Lane and takes the fries back to Kirk. Lane smiles, her secret safe for now.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the line, Jess is left holding his cell phone on the fire escape of his new, ridiculously tiny apartment (made even more ridiculously tiny by the presence of his mother and…stepfather. Ew.)

What the hell had just happened?

**Hope you guys liked it! Please review!**


	3. The Shifting of the Universe

**Part 3! Yay! Okay, this part also came out in like, two days. However, I'm not making any promises for Part 4…that's still in early production stages. Maybe sometime next week. **

**Anyway, for this part…the band that Hep Alien (I'm pretty sure that's the name of Lane's band…aw, I remember when they had no name…good times) opens for is completely made up. Just remember that. Uh…I guess that's it. I just hope I got Jess in character. Enjoy!**

**  
The Redux, Part 3—The Shifting of the Universe**

Jess Mariano cannot understand what is happening to him.

Look at the evidence. In the last month alone, he has a) read a self-help book, b) took the advice of said self-help book and desperately tried to win back an ex-girlfriend, c) been horribly rejected by said ex-girlfriend, and d) talked to his _mother_.

He sighs. He really does love his mother—he was kind of obligated to,at least—she was just …neurotic, to put it politely. And his new, uh, stepfather? Well, he was currently on Jess' new sofabed (a housewarming present from Liz—"so we have a place to sleep when we visit!") drawing something-or-other –Jess thinks it's a unicorn—on his new Etch-a-Sketch. 

The man was grown and married, and playing with an _Etch-a-Sketch_. Drawing a unicorn, no less.

Man, Jess thinks, my family is completely fucked up.

Well, except for maybe his uncle. Luke was pretty much the sane, stable one in the family. Speaking of, Jess picks up his newly-acquired cell phone and slips out to his fire escape. After his mother's wedding, Jess had made a promise to himself to call Luke at least once a week. His uncle had done a lot for him, though Jess would barely admit it out loud. He _would_ call him, though. It was the least he could do. Reciprocation and all that crap.

The phone rings five times before Luke finally picks up. 

"Whoever you are, now is not a good time." His uncle's gruff, frazzled voice comes through the line, along with the clinking of dishes and some high-pitched shrieking in the background.

"Luke? It's me." Jess has to raise his own voice to be heard, and Luke yells a "Hey," followed by some more shrieking. "Lane! Is there any possible way you could _not _do that…? Forget it. Why do I even try?"

"What the hell is going on?" Jess shouts into the phone. More dishes, more shrieking.

"That would be Lane. And a little bit of Lorelai, too. Apparently, the band got—" Suddenly, Lane's higher, more breathy voice comes on the line.

"We got a gig at CBGB's! A real one at a _real _time, not some obscene hour of the morning. Opening for The Ruby Damned, whoever they are, June 17th, 6:30 at CBGB's!! Aaah!!" Before he has a chance to reply, Luke is back on the line.

"Jess? You still there?"

"Uh…yeah."

"Good. Listen, I'll call you…not now. Maybe tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Oh, uh…yeah, Mom says hi." Jess nods at his mother, who's smiling at him through the window.

"Oh, yeah? Tell her the same from me." Another shriek pierces the phone lines. "You know, it's times like these when I miss your silence. I'll see you, Jess."

"Yeah. See you." The line goes dead, and Jess allows a tiny smile to break on his face.

CBGB's, huh? Maybe he'd go see the band play. After all, he was in New York, and…

And, well, he'd never admit it, but part of him wants to see Lane. The things she'd said the other day…the way she'd said them…the universe was shifting, he could feel it.

_"It _was_ romantic and all, just so you know." _

Something was definitely off, that was for sure. For once, Lane didn't seem to be on Rory's side (and the battle over Smashing Pumpkins didn't count.) She had _apologized_ for Rory, for Christ's sake. And she had seemed genuinely concerned about him. It was…well, odd. To say the least. The whole situation was odd, and Jess was getting a strange feeling rising in an unknown reach of his body. It unsettled him.

He knew, deep down somewhere, that something was going to change.

**All right, guys! See you in Chapter 4—don't forget to review!**


	4. Good Sex and a SixString Guitar

**A/N: Hey, all! Here's Part 4. This one took me a bit longer than expected—I kept tweaking things, changing things here and there. But I think that it's pretty good now. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, and of course to all the Pen Lenders out at Stars Hollow (love you guys!!) Okay, here we go:**

**The Redux, Part 4: Good Sex and a Six-String Guitar**

Lane Kim is ridiculously excited. The band she's in—_her_ band, if you will—has a gig. Yes, that's right. A gig. And not just any gig. Not a "Town Selectman" rally or some high-schooler's birthday party. Nope, this is a real gig at a real club. And not just any club, either. CBGB's. As in New York City underground. CB-freaking-GB's.

Stars Hollow was accumulating a low buzz for the band and their gig. Lorelai was coming ("I can tell everyone that before you were famous and all, you practiced in my garage!") and bringing Sookie. With backstage passes, no less—sort of payment for the use of the garage. Luke, while happy for her in his own Luke way ("That's great. Now go—quietly—and give this to Caesar"), was not coming. That was okay, though. She knew that CBGB's wasn't exactly his scene. Dean, though Lane tried to skillfully avoid him, had cornered her in Doose's on a secret junk-food run to tell her he'd try and come. At the time, she had politely thanked him and asked where Taylor put the Pringles this week. Later, outside the store, she gagged and tried to scrub out of her head the bad bad bad images of him and Rory that immediately popped up when she saw his face.

Ick. Moving on. It seemed that the entire town of Stars Hollow knew about the gig. Patty and Babette had congratulated her. Gypsy told her to plug the auto shop if they were ever in a magazine. Taylor lectured her on the dangers of slipping too deep into rock music. Kirk gave her a can of pepper spray to keep her safe in the city. Even Liz, Luke's sister, had said something to her, though Lane didn't know her very well.

"CBGB's, huh? Man, that is the coolest! I remember my first time at CBGB's. I was…oh, I must have been seventeen, because it was before I got married. Wasn't playing, of course. It was so cool, though. I don't remember exactly who played, but I remember that I smoked a lot of pot, so that might be it. Anyway, that's real cool, hon."

Lane had been a little weirded out by the woman's recollection, but she thanked her anyway. Truth be told, she liked the attention. For the longest time, she had only been Lane Kim—musical best friend of the great Rory Gilmore, you know, the Asian girl whose mother is seen in the church more than Jesus? But now, Lane had the chance to do something amazing, and people were taking notice. It was…well, it was very satisfying, to say the least.

Pushing those thoughts away, Lane sits on her bed. Zach's acoustic guitar, which she had discreetly stolen last week, was spread across her lap, a notebook in front of her. For one reason or another (reasons that she will not admit out loud), Lane has found herself itching to write a song. And, though the drums were her instrument of choice, you couldn't exactly write a song on them. Pianos were expensive, so the bandhouse did not have one. Guitar was the obvious choice. Thankfully, Dave had taught her basics one day when it was raining. Plus, living with Zach and Brian didn't exactly hurt her guitar-learning abilities.

A floorboard creaks, and Lane jumps a little and waits. The house is silent, though, so she relaxes. The thing is, she's not really worried about Zach finding his guitar gone. Realistically, she didn't think he'd notice. The electric was his baby now—it got him more groupies, after all.

What she's really worried about is anyone finding out what she's writing about.

Lane doesn't know what's going on. For a few weeks now, she's been having…_thoughts_…about Jess. Jess Mariano, of all people. Her best friend's ex-boyfriend, who, honestly enough, she hadn't even really known that well. Or liked, for that matter. Shaking her head, she glances down at her notebook. The past three pages were filled with random lines, imagined lyrics, the occasional chord thought or two. Disorganized, all over the place.

Her last entry was of a dream she'd had last night. It hadn't been the first time, though. For the past week, she had been haunted by fantastical stories and dreams in the darker hours of the morning. They were different, but yet all the same—stories about Brooklyn, or the West Village. Once, even Chinatown. Stories, flashes of a boy with tortured eyes and a book in his back pocket. Stories that always seemed to end with good sex and a six-string guitar.

Lane's given up trying to stop the dreams, though. She rather likes them, in fact, strange though they be. After all, they're giving her inspiration for songs, something she's never really experienced before—she could play, but as for writing? Everything she'd tried before had sounded wrong in her head. But now…well…

Before him, she'd never needed inspiration of this kind. She'd never known that she needed to feel like this—creative, productive, _alive._ But now, Lane thinks it's strange that _he _can do this to her. _He _can make her mind create things that she never dreamed of.

She is rocked to the core with realization. This boy…unknowingly, unwillingly, unconsciously…this boy has become…her muse.

**That's all for now! Chapter 5 will be up either the end of this week or the beginning of next. Because midterms suck. Anyway, please review!! Thanks!**


	5. Shadows

**Hey, guys!! I'm back. This chapter gave me trouble right up until its posting, especially Lane's song and everything after. I think that this works, though. It's the right lead-in to the next chapter (which is currently in the works…) Oh, and about Lane's song: It is my original creation, except for the bold lines, which are from Fisher's "Closer" (from the Uppers and Downers album.) At first, the whole song was my own, but it didn't feel right, and I felt that those borrowed lines worked well with what I wanted. LOL okay, that's enough about my writer's frustrations. As always, this goes out to the PLs at Stars Hollow—love you guys!!  
**

**The Redux, Part 5: Shadows (Am I Wrong?)**

_"Come on, Zach!"_

_"Yeah, Zach, just let her do the song."_

_"It'll take three minutes, Zach. Just let me do it, okay? It's kind of important to me."_

_"Lane, do you know what this gig is about? The band. Your solo is not the band."_

_"Zach, I never get the chance to do stuff like this. Besides, we'd let you do a solo if you wrote one, and you know it."_

_"Yeah, man. And you know what? Everyone should get a chance in rock-'n-roll!"_

The last one was, of course, Gil. And thank God for him, because Zach caved—albeit reluctantly—after he said that. Of course, Lane had to pay half of Zach's third of the electric bill for the next month, but she wasn't worried. She was going to perform a song that _she _wrote. At CBGB's, no less. At the time, Lane's excitement level was higher than the terror alert.

Now? Well, Lane was seriously starting to regret the idea. Her? Performing solo on an acoustic guitar? She wasn't a singer. She was barely a guitar player! Nauseous, she turns around, but it's too late. Gil is up at the microphone, holding her—well, Zach's—guitar.

"We're gonna switch gears for a minute here. Our drummer, Lane, wrote a song, and she's gonna play it for you now. Lane Kim, everybody!" Her name is met with modest applause, and she steps from the shadows behind the drum kit.

Crap. Crap, crap, crap. Oh, _crap_. Definitely too late now. Flashing a weak smile, Lane takes the guitar with shaking fingers and sits on the stool that Gil had considerately grabbed for her. The older man gives her a reassuring pat on the back, smiling as he makes his way off the stage. She adjusts the microphone.

"Um, hey. I don't normally do this—but this song, uh, wouldn't go away." Lane catches a glimpse of Lorelai's encouraging smile in the crowd and relaxes. A little. "So, uh…yeah. Here it is. It's called, um, "Am I Wrong?'" Lane then fixes her concentration on playing the simple intro, a few chord progressions. When she looks up, she sees a shadow in a leather jacket move at the back of the club and feels her nerves kick into overdrive. Was it him? Was he here?

Was she kidding? He couldn't have known. And even if he did, he couldn't have cared less. Shaking her head slightly at her stupid imagination, she vamps the intro for a few seconds before tentatively singing into the mike.

_He wasn't my lover  
__He was barely my friend  
__He belonged to another  
__And that should be the end…_

_But I can't seem to get him out of my head  
__I can't seem to get him out of my head…_

**_Am I wrong to want him near?  
_**_'Cause he's something different, something to fear  
__**I see his face in the back of my mind**  
He's pushing me towards the city stars tonight  
__  
So I guess there's only one thing to say:_  
**_Am I wrong to feel this way?_**

_I wish he were my lover_  
_Though strange as that may be  
__Break his ties to previous lies  
__And come away with me… _

_'Cause I can't get those eyes of his out of my head  
__I can't get that mouth of his out of my head  
__I can't seem to get him out of my head…_

_I guess there's only one thing left to say:  
_**_Am I wrong to feel this way?_**

She finishes the song to another round of applause (and a few cheers from Lorelai and Sookie). A pleased blush warms her cheeks, and as she bows modestly, she sees the leather-jacketed shadow shift at the back of the club. God, she had to stop doing that. Her overactive imagination was going to be the death of her one of these days. Thanking the crowd and bowing one last time, she shakes her head and makes her way back to her drum kit.

The boys appear back on stage, and in a blur, they finish the set. Thankfully, the crowd seems to like them, with enthusiastic applause (and Lorelai and Sookie's cheers, of course) filling the club.

"We're Hep Alien, everybody! Thank you! Thank you!" Gil shouts into the mike, and the stage lights go down. Lane makes her way backstage, only to be tackled by Lorelai and Sookie, who were wearing backstage passes around their necks—just more payment for the garage (plus, Zach still had that highly amusing crush on Lorelai.)

"Aaaah! Lane, that was awesome! Oh, I'm so excited! I know a famous rock band!"

"We're not famous yet, Lorelai." Lane tells her, laughing. The older woman thinks for a second.

"Oh, I'm so excited! I know a band that played at CBGB's!!" Lane pauses, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Aaah! I'm in a band that played at CBGB's!!" The three women jump up and down excitedly, enduring a look or two from the bouncers (and Lane's bandmates). After a few seconds, they settle down into mild squealing every once in awhile.

"So, Lane. I never knew you could sing. Your song was real good, hon." Sookie smiles at her, and Lane smiles shyly in return.

"Thanks, Sookie. It wasn't that bad, really?"

"No, it was awesome, babe." Lorelai reassures her.

"Who's it about? I mean, a song like that, gotta be about someone special, right? Right?" Sookie asks, elbowing the younger girl. Lane laughs nervously.

"No one. You know…just kind of, um, popped into my head. It's about no one, really." Sookie looks disappointed, but seems to accept it. On the other hand, Lane notices Lorelai's raised eyebrow and curses internally. Lorelai always could read her pretty well. Lane braces herself for more questions, but they never come. The older woman just smiles secretively.

"You know what, babe? You shouldn't be hanging around here backstage. Go meet your adoring public!" Lorelai pushes her out to the club, where some of the smoke has cleared and the headliners are beginning to set up their equipment.

The lights are dim. Adrenaline and imagination are dangerously mixing in Lane's head, and she searches for a leather jacket and a shadow in the blurry haze of the club.

**All right. I hope you liked it. Look out for Chapter 6, hopefully sometime this weekend or early next week.**

**And, as always, please please please review!!**


	6. And We Meet in the Middle With the Viole...

**Gah. Well, this is over a week late, and I apologize for that. I was just so swamped with schoolwork (like, three different speeches/papers) and a choir show. So yes. I am sorry for the slight delay. And I hope this is all right. I hit some stumbling blocks with the dialogue (because I suck at dialogue a little bit) and the end, too. But again, in the grand scheme of things, I think it's okay. **

**As always, this goes out to all the PLs out at Stars Hollow—Thanks so much for all your support!**

**The Redux, Part 6: And We Meet in the Middle With the Violet Lights**

He didn't know why he was still sitting here. Lane's band had been finished for a few minutes now. He had seen her go backstage. The headliner band was setting up, the crowd was getting restless, and there was no reason for him to still be here. There was no reason for him to be there in the first place, actually. After all, the only person he really knew at all was Lane, and she hadn't even invited him. He wasn't sure if she even wanted him there. Then again, she didn't know he was there. He was pretty sure that she hadn't seen him—he could probably slip out the door right now, and she wouldn't know the difference.

Something inside of him feels troubled at the thought, but he brushes it off and gets up to go.

Then he looks up, and fate of all fates, she is there, and locks his gaze. He sees shock register through the hazy smoke and fog in the club, and—was that a blush, or just the lighting? He doesn't have time to figure it out, for when he looks again, she has disappeared in the crowd. He senses something inside of him that suspiciously feels like disappointment, and turns to go, frowning.

"I thought that was you. Who else wears a leather jacket in the middle of June?" Her teasing rings through the buzzing club, and he turns around, a small smirk (he will maintain that it's _not_ a smile) appearing on his face. The troubling feeling has disappeared. He sees her dark eyes spark, even in the dim lighting.

"Hey." He says simply, still smirking. Suddenly she is fluttery and…nervous? Jess dismisses it. He had always made people nervous. And Lane was probably still jittery from playing.

Yeah, that had to be it.

"What are you doing here?" she asks him point-blank, and his smirk widens.

"Nothing, really. Just checking out the New York City underground scene. Catching up on some reading." He produces On the Road from his back pocket and she smiles.

"I see. So…you're not here to see anyone in particular, then." Was she _flirting_ with him? Lane? Was that even possible? He wasn't sure. God, the universe had better stop shifting soon. He was getting dizzy.

"Well, I was here to see someone, I guess. But she definitely doesn't look like you. I don't think her mother would approve of ripped jeans and fishnets. And purple hair…? I don't know." Well, if she was going to almost-flirt with him, he was going along with the game. He could always use a distraction.

"She doesn't live with her mother anymore." She replies abruptly, and he detects a note of sadness in her voice. Interesting. But her voice changes too quickly for him to analyze it further. "Wait, how'd you find out? Oh, did Luke tell you?"

He wasn't sure if he'd ever stop smirking around her.

"You told me. I called the diner last week. Tried to talk to Luke. Got you instead, screaming about CBGB's. Luke was agitated. It was amusing."

She blushes, and he thinks he likes it. "Oh, that was you? I…I was excited."

"Yeah. I noticed. But hey. It's CBGB's. Congratulations." She blushes again, and he's terrified to realize that he _does_ like it.

"Thanks," and she lowers her head, the purple streaks in her hair shifting in the hazy lights. Awkward silence drifts between them.

Jesus Christ, she _had_ changed. Where was the girl who was terrified of her mother? Where were the conservative outfits she used to wear? Where did this new, flirtatious, more confident Lane come from?

And when did she get so…attractive? He had never seen this Lane, with her fishnets and makeup—and purple streaks in her hair. _Crazy-beautiful_, the thought runs through his head, and he doesn't know where the hell that came from. He distinctly remembers not seeing that movie. In fact, he distinctly remembers inwardly (and outwardly) mocking anyone who saw that movie. But it seems to fit, and he doesn't exactly know why.

Bright purple shines for a moment and he is blinded. The silence stretches.

"Nice hair." He decides to break the silence and reaches out to tug on one of the bright purple streaks. Lane grins widely.

"Yeah? It was fully purple once, and I thought about doing it again, but Luke would probably have a heart attack. I'd really like to keep my job in case this New York underground thing doesn't work out."

"Of course." He runs a hand through his hair. "Hey, look, Lane—"

"Lane!" They are interrupted by Zach, who breaks through the crowd, rolling his eyes. "Come on, we gotta go. Brian said he wants to make it back to Connecticut by 11:30 so he can get his 'minimum hours of REM' or whatever." He rolls his eyes again. "Totally not rock and roll."

Lane hesitates, glancing at Jess. "Oh…okay, Zach. I'll be there in a minute." The blond boy looks impatient, but turns to go back anyway.

"Fine. But if he starts whining or having an asthma attack or something, I'm blaming you."

"Yeah, okay," she says distractedly, but he's already gone. She turns back to Jess. "Well, I guess I have to go. Uh…it was…nice seeing you. Um, yeah. So…bye." She looks like she wants to say something more, but instead turns around.

He hesitates for a moment before grabbing her arm.

"Lane, wait." With these two words comes an instant of quiet where she feels the air crackle, and he could swear she has a purple halo, but both of them dismiss it as the club atmosphere. "Uh…listen." She stares at him, trying to figure out what he's going to say next.

The truth is, he doesn't even know himself.

"Listen," he repeats. "Do you guys wanna stay with me tonight? You wouldn't have to deal with night driving." Then he backpedals, not knowing what he was doing. "You know what? Forget it. Never mind. You should just go home." He lets go of her arm, and her purple hair flashes in the lights.

"No! I mean, yes. Um, I mean, that would be great. I mean…I've never really seen the city, you know. I wanted to tour a little. Go shopping in some cool High Fidelity music store. I've got a list somewhere. Maybe it's in my bag. Oh! I should go tell the guys!" He almost laughs at her absolutely bubbly thought progression, but just settles for smirking again. Suddenly, she is grabbing his hand and pulling him through the crowd. "Come on!" She yanks him past the bouncer, who gives him a dirty look until she flashes her pass—"He's with me"—and suddenly, the world of the noisy club fades away. There were only a few people in the small room—Lane's bandmates, a few roadies…

And Lorelai and Sookie. Crap. He hadn't counted on them being here. Lorelai raises an eyebrow, looking fairly shocked. They head toward the two women, and he braces himself for awkward conversation, but thankfully Zach ambushes Lane before they can get that far.

"Lane, come on! Gil already left and took the stuff in his van. All we have to do is leave. Now. Brian's getting really annoying about it." Zach tells her. She rolls her eyes.

"You remember Jess?" she motions to him and he nods. "Well, Jess here has so nicely offered to let us stay with him for the night." Off of Zach's wary look, she continues. "Aw, come on, Zach! I want to actually _see _the city. We can go back tomorrow afternoon. Brian will stop whining about his REM cycle—"

"Hey! It's important that I get—"

"And we'll all get a day off tomorrow. We deserve it. Come on. Please?"

Jess had to admit, Lane's powers of persuasion were a force to be reckoned with, because Zach caved, and Brian followed soon after. Lane was practically ecstatic, which made him smile—smirk. But then he caught Lorelai out of the corner of his eye and inwardly cringed. Crap. He knew she was protective of Lane, almost as much as Rory. What was she going to say about this? What was Lane going to say about this? Actually, what would _he_ say about this?

"Hey, Lane? Can I talk to you for a second over here? Jess," she acknowledges him curtly, and he nods.

Well, they were about to find out.

**I suppose that's a good place to end it as any. LOL Again, sorry if it sucks a little. This chapter gave me a lot of trouble, but that's partly due to timing as well, I think. Oh, well. Please review!**


	7. My Mama Says

**Hey, all! Wow. I did not expect to get this part out so soon, but it all just came spewing out. This chapter was actually supposed to be a short part of a bigger chapter, but the words just kept on coming, and I decided to make it its own entity (just because I like the word "entity" lol****) Anyway, this chapter is a little different from the rest in that it's mostly dialogue, just between Lorelai and Lane. But I like the way it turned out. As always, to the Pen Lenders at stars-hollow: This one's for you!**

**_Previously, on the Redux:_**

-

"What are you doing here?"

_"Nothing really. Just checking out the New York City underground scene. Checking up on some reading."_

_-_

"Well, I guess I have to go. Uh…it was…nice seeing you. Um, yeah. So…bye." 

_"Lane, wait…Listen. Do you guys wanna stay with me tonight?"_

-

"Hey, Lane? Can I talk to you for a second over here?"

**-**

The Redux, Part 7: My Mama Says...

Most of the time, Lorelai Gilmore is a carefree, cheerful, happy person, usually smiling or cracking a joke.

Now is not most of the time, it seems. Now, her jaw is clenched, her eyes are fiery, and her arms are crossed tightly over her chest as she drags Lane across the backstage room at CBGB's. When she deems them far enough to be out of hearing range of anyone else in the room (namely, a certain Jess Mariano), she quietly…explodes.

"Lane, do you care to explain what's going on? Just because you're a rock star now does not mean that you can just sleep over at random guys' apartments!"

"Lorelai, this isn't some random guy. It's Jess. Besides, it's not like anything's going on." Her racing thoughts get the better of her, and she pauses for a moment too long. Lorelai catches strange dream-like look in Lane's eye and immediately pounces.

"There is! There _is_ something going on!" The older woman hisses. "Oh, my God! How long have you guys been doing this? Did he see you at Liz's wedding? Is he trying to get back at Rory? Is that what's going on?"

"Lorelai! There is nothing, and I mean nothing, going on! God! He's still in love with Rory, duh! Didn't she tell you what happened, or was she too busy doing God-knows-what with _Dean?_" The boy's name comes out as pure venom, and Lorelai flinches, a hurt look on her face. But she continues anyway.

"Tell me what?" Her voice seems smaller, and Lane deflates, feeling incredibly guilty.

"I'm sorry, Lorelai. I shouldn't have…I'm sorry."

"It's okay, babe. I understand. But…what should she have told me? What happened?" Lane sneaks a glance at Jess, who is on the other side of the room, making small talk with Sookie, Zach, and Brian.

"He…he asked her to come with him." Lorelai's eyes widen, but she doesn't say anything, so Lane continues. "You know, like run away with him. Live with him."

"Forever?" Lane shrugs.

"Maybe that's what Jess wanted. But…I think he would have settled for a summer." There is dangerous fire in Lorelai's eyes.

"I'm going to kill him. He thought he could just take my baby away from me, take her to New York? Who does he think he is?" She starts toward her unsuspecting victim, but Lane grabs her arm before she can take two steps.

"Lorelai, no. Don't blame him. He was—is—was…in love with her. And he got hurt. I mean, from what she told me, all she said was 'No!' She didn't even give him an explanation, or anything." She sighs, looking away. "I feel bad, I guess. I don't think…He's not really a bad guy, you know. Just, none of us gave him any chances. Except Luke. He likes him. That's gotta count for something. And," she feels compelled to add, "it's not like he was _married_. I mean, I don't see you going after Dean. And in my opinion, what _he_ did was much worse."

Lorelai stands silent, shocked. Her blue eyes seem to fade to a grayish color.

"You're right. Oh, my God, you're right, Lane." She sniffs, and Lane sees tears threatening to fall. "Lane, I'm sorry. It's just…she didn't even tell me about all of this. She didn't tell me about Jess. She didn't tell me about Dean until after I caught them…She doesn't tell me things anymore. She's changed, Lane. What happened to her?"

Lane doesn't know how to answer. Instead, she holds out her arms and Lorelai accepts the offer, hugging her tightly. When they break apart, the older woman smiles sadly.

"You know, Lane, I'm so proud of you. I don't know if I tell you that enough. But I am. You've grown up. Very well. I'd like to think I had something to do with it." The sad smile still on her face, she hugs Lane again.

"Thanks. For everything. And yeah, you had a _lot_ to do with it." Lorelai nods, her smile a little bigger now.

"Thanks, babe. Now, you be careful, okay? I don't want anything happening to you. This is a big city-"

"I know, Lorelai. I won't do anything stupid. Besides, Zach and Brian will be there." She thinks for a moment. "Okay, _Jess_ will be there." She amends, and Lorelai laughs a little, glancing thoughtfully in his direction.

"Yeah. He will, won't he?" Sighing, Lorelai looks back at Lane. "Well, that _is_ good, I guess. Okay, fine. It's only for a day. Hey," she pauses, looking straight in Lane's eyes, "you'd tell me if there was _really_ something going on between you two, right?" Lane laughs nervously.

"Of course. But ah, it'll never happen. You know that. I mean, come on…" Her voice trails off. She doesn't know how to finish.

"Right," Lorelai cuts her off, but she still doesn't look convinced. "Good. Well, let's go, then. I have to get back to Stars Hollow. I do have an inn to run, after all." Looping her arm around Lane's, she leads her back to the group.

Lane looks down at the ground for a moment and smiles. She could feel something changing. Was it just her? No, it couldn't be, if Lorelai was changing, too. The universe? Maybe that was big enough to encompass it all.

In any case, Lane liked it, and wanted to see just how far this change could take her.

**Okay, there it is. Hope you liked it. Look for Part 8 near the end of the week. Remember to review!**


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